School To Students: Stay Away From The Ketchup!

Each year it seems like new things get banned from schools — everything from colors associated with local gangs to dodgeball to hugging.

A recent Huffington Post article revealed an array of bizarre bans, such as using red ink on students' papers because it seemed to "confrontational," having best friends because it encouraged "groupism," bicycling to school because it's considered too dangerous, hosting bake sales because of their lack of nutrition, and using references to Christmas for fear of being offensive.

But bans in school are nothing new. A Huntsville Times story addresses an incident in 1972 when a group of boys at Vestavia High School in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, were asked to leave because their hair was too long and violated the school hair code of letting their bangs cover their eyes.

And bizarre bans are not just in America. According to evoke.ie, what did France ban in their primary schools because it was eroding the culinary heritage of their youth? Ketchup! C’est n’importe quoi! (That's nonsense!)

Did you ever get in trouble for violating an odd school code? Which school codes did you find reasonable? Are there other school codes you find bizarre today, or can you think of reasonable ones that today’s children need?